This cake recipe comes from Bronwen Wyatt, @bayousaintcake, a terrific baker from New Orleans LA, who can tell you anything you need to know about Mardi Gras King Cakes, biscuits, and really all types of baked goods. It’s an all-purpose sponge cake that can be dressed up any number of ways, with mountains of cream and strawberries, as below, or as the base for a trifle or even tres leches cake. Bronwen makes this cake with olive oil, but I prefer a neutral-flavored oil like safflower. A nut oil like almond or walnut would be delicious if you are not feeding anyone with a nut allergy.
Cake
1/4 cup sugar
15 tablespoons sugar (1/2 cup with 1 tablespoon removed)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, such as safflower
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
3 eggs, cold
1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
Cream
2 cups of heavy cream
2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Strawberry filling
2-3 cups of strawberries
1-4 tablespoons sugar
optional: a splash of liqueur, such as Amaretto or lemon juice or Balsamic vinegar
Heat the oven to 350°. If you have an 8- or 9-inch springform pan, that works well for this cake. You don’t need to grease or line it. If you have a cake pan that’s at least 3 inches deep that will work, or a square 9-nch pan that’s deeper.
Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or other bowl in which you can whip the whites. Place the yolks in a medium bowl, that will hold abut 2 quarts.
Set the smaller amount of sugar by the whites. Combine the larger amount of sugar with the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk the egg yolks to break them up, then whisk in the oil. Add the milk and the vanilla, and when they’re mixed in, add the flour mixture.
Beat the egg whites and cream of tarter on medium speed till foamy, the start adding the sugar, slowly, continuing to beat until you have shiny but still moist peaks, slowly increasing the speed of your mixer as the sugar is incorporated. The process should take 3-4 minutes.
Mix about 1/3 of the whites into the batter with your whisk, then switch to a spatula, and mix in the rest of the whites in twp additions, trying not to deflate the whites.
Pour the batter into your pan and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top springs back when pressed lightly and is golden brown. Invert the pan onto a rack as soon as you take it out of the oven. Cool for at least 30 minutes then cut around the edges with a thin knife and remove the springform sides (if using) and carefully release the cake from the springform bottom. Or unmold the cake if you’re using a different pan.
While the cake is cooling prepare the cream and strawberries. Select a few of the prettiest strawberries to decorate the top pf your cake. Wash (as needed) and hull and slice the rest of the berries. Combine the berries, sugar, and optional flavorings and allow to macerate while the cake cools.
Whip the cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters until softly mounded, adding the sugar and vanilla towards the end, when it is near the consistency you like. For longer life, you can also use this whipped cream frosting that is stabilized with cream cheese. It will hold up in the fridge for days without going flat.
To assemble your cake, you can split it, fill it with berries and cream, and then pile more on top. You could also fill the cake with good quality jam, and pile fresh berries on top. Finally, if you aren’t serving a crowd, you can slice wedges of plain cake and cover those with berries and cream, thus reserving the cake for later.
